


Battle

by gillywulf



Series: War [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, F/F, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-08
Updated: 2014-12-08
Packaged: 2018-02-28 16:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2739602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gillywulf/pseuds/gillywulf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuvira has a crush.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Battle

**Author's Note:**

> Kuvira's really interesting.

Kuvira was disgruntled by the Avatar's new residency in Zaofu. After Zaheer's failed attack, she and her _friend_ , the Sato girl, had come there for her healing process. It had taken six long months of relearning how to walk and painful falls for anyone to realize that there was still poison in her system.

Kuvira had been present to witness the Avatar bending it out of herself, and that was the first time that the girl intrigued her. She couldn't imagine being poisoned in the first place, let alone having to _bend_ it out on her own. Once the last of it was floating in the air under Suyin's control, the Avatar state took over the girl for only a moment.

When she came back to herself, she sported an elated grin which the Sato girl compounded on by throwing herself towards her for a crushing hug. Instead of throwing her off like Kuvira would have done, Korra laughed and returned the embrace. The whole scenario was odd.

Which of course made it stick in her head. For the following month and weeks, it was the thought that popped up unexpectedly no matter what she was doing. Midway through her hundred morning push-ups; Korra's concentration. Food just about to pass through her lips; Korra's slow, steady movement. Looking over security detail; the color of Korra's eyes in her triumph. It slowly began to become a hindrance.

Suyin was most definitely telling her something important about incoming guests, but Kuvira's gaze was glued to the nearby training field through the window where the Avatar was doing a bizarre combination of airbending and earthbending forms in one which looked almost like a dance. Her newly shorn hair swayed as she moved and her muscles were taut in precision as sweat made her dark skin gleam in the sunlight-  
  
"Kuvira?" She snapped back to attention. Suyin's eyes were narrowed at her, scrutinizing.  
  
"Sorry ma'am, I dozed off. Won't happen again" the captain promised. Suyin crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"You know, you've been doing that a lot lately. Usually when Korra's around" Kuvira valiantly fought the blush that threatened her composure. She was also _incredibly_ thankful that it was just the two of them. "Do you like her? You _are_ allowed to" Suyin assured. Feeling caught, the young woman sighed.  
  
"I don't know. She's incredibly distracting to me, and I think about her relatively often. But I think she has something going on with the Sato girl" she admitted. Suyin's smirk was anything but comforting.  
  
"As of this moment there is nothing going on between them. I asked Asami this morning actually, and she told me repeatedly and emphatically that they are _just friends_. Though I do agree with you, it seems a little more than that"  
  
"So I should get over it"  
  
"Hell no! Until anything becomes official there is still room for you to try. Sometimes even after the fact. Kuvira, I think of you as my own daughter, I want you to be happy. Please pursue the people who make that a possibility" Kuvira nodded in silent promise and her adoptive mother returned to the security plans.

For the rest of their conversation, she had half a brain on the planning as the other half thought about how she might best approach the younger girl. It turned out that she didn't have to think about it at all, as Suyin was a far better strategist than she really ever got credit for.

During breakfast a few mornings later, she was requested in the main dining hall. She left her food and grabbed her helmet, tucking it diligently under her arm. She pushed open the large double doors and snapped her heels together at attention. At the sight of her, the Avatar cried out.  
  
"This is ridiculous. I am almost fully healed and Asami is fully capable of keeping me safe" she growled. Kuvira tried not to be offended by her anger.  
  
"No, we need Asami to help out on a time sensitive project and if you're so _bound and determined_ to get out of the city, you need to be protected. That's hilarious if you think you're anywhere _near_ fully healed"  
  
"Korra, it's fine. If it doesn't take too long, I might even join you. You are going to kill someone if you're cooped up in here much longer, you need to get out" reasoned Sato. Korra scowled at her friend. As Kuvira watched, it seemed like a private conversation passed silently between them before the Avatar sighed.  
  
"Fine. But you're there to protect me, not _babysit_ me" she declared. Kuvira inclined her head the slightest amount.  
  
"If that's what you want" After the Avatar had finished eating, they left Zaofu for the nearby meadow lands. The sun was bright and not yet at it's highest point in the sky, but it promised to be a warm day. Kuvira was already feeling the heat her armor had trapped.

Korra said nothing as she walked a few feet ahead of her at a leisurely pace. The captain refused to let her eyes linger on her well defined back. It was bad enough that Su had set this up, now _she_ had to deal with it. As they climbed up a hill, Korra looked quickly over her shoulder at her.  
  
"You saved my dad, didn't you? Against Zaheer" she said suddenly.  
  
"Yes, that was me" Kuvira answered. Korra nodded.  
  
"I want to thank you for that. If he had died-" She didn't finish her sentence, but Kuvira understood. She knew what it was like to lose parents and she was thankful that the Avatar didn't. They didn't say anything again until they reached a stream, half hidden by trees.

Korra paused to look at it and then up towards the still rising but already steaming sun. She gripped the tops of her left full length arm band and pulled down and tossed it on the ground. The right soon followed. Kuvira blinked nervously when she began undoing the buckle of her waist pelt. Korra glanced up at her as she worked.  
  
"I'm from the South Pole and I'm boiling. I don't know about you, but I'm going for a swim" she explained. She dropped the pelt to the ground and kicked off her boots. As her hands pulled down her loose pants Kuvira realized she couldn't look away. The Avatar's hips shimmied slowly, and her muscled legs looked soft to the touch. Now just in a shirt and underwear, she jumped towards the water, boosting the jump with airbending. Kuvira stood awkwardly at the waters edge, unsure of what to do. Korra's head broke the surface of the water and she flipped her hair out of her face with a jerk of her head.  
  
"Aren't you coming in, cap? The water's really nice and you're in friggin armor" Kuvira touched the armor self consciously.  
  
"I'd rather not. I'm your protection, it's best I'm prepared for any eventuality" she replied. Korra shrugged and floated on her back.  
  
"Whatever you say" She swam for a pleasant half hour, during which the captain sat diligently in the shade on a boulder by the stream. When she was finished, she waded through the water towards the shore. Kuvira's eyes tracked the movement up to the point Korra took a loose waterbending stance. She watched in interest as the Avatar bent the water off her body, hair, and clothes and led it directly back to the stream. She pulled her clothes back on (in a bizarre order) and the two trudged back to Zaofu in much the same manner they left it.  
  
"You know, you're not so bad. Most other guards probably would have had my head for swimming. Thanks, cap"  
  
"Kuvira"  
  
"Sorry?"  
  
"It's my name. You can call me Kuvira if you want" Korra smiled.  
  
"Sure thing, Kuvira" The captain was far less productive for the rest of the day. So intent she was on remembering how her name sounded coming from the Avatar, she nearly missed a soldier missing from their post. She realized it a few steps away, but she was furious by her own inattention. For the first time, she felt optimistic about her love life and it was entirely novel. The day they had spent together had gone well she thought. And she had gotten to seen Korra half naked which was certainly a perk.

She was just passing one of Zaofu's gardens a week later when she noticed the focus of her thoughts resting on a bench, focused on a book in her hand. Most importantly she was alone. Kuvira knew that getting the Avatar alone to talk would be completely impossible most days, so this was an opportunity that she had to take advantage of. It was now or never really. The captain cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders. She had only taken two steps forward when a voice called out.  
  
"Korra!" The Avatar looked up immediately with a wide grin for the Sato girl who'd shouted for her. She locked eyes with her as the engineer sat closely beside her, their thighs touching. Even from where Kuvira was standing their dopey grins took up all of the real estate on their faces. It was obvious how in love with each other they were.

The evidence was in their casual touches. It was in the way Korra's attention never once strayed from the other woman, nor Sato's from Korra. It was in the way the Avatar blushed every time Sato's fingers brushed her leg. It was in the way Kuvira knew she had lost before she had even really had a proper chance. But in no way could she blame it on either if the young women.

It wasn't _their_ fault that she harbored fruitless crushes, it was her own. She rushed through the garden towards her original destination. Her eyes were stuck forward; she didn't want to make accidental eye contact with either of the two on the bench.

She tried to start thinking of her strictly as her role at the Avatar, not the cute girl who couldn't put her clothes on in the right order, or the beautiful girl with determination and stubbornness to match. It was hard. Especially so, when very often she'd have to sit in on her training sessions with Suyin or briefing sessions on the state of the Earth Kingdom.

Since the Beifong matriarch had grudgingly taken the restoration project, she was gone for long stretches of time to all the farthest reaches of the country which meant that she had the best idea of the progress being made. It was slow, grueling work but things were changing. She was actively working with with states to improve their supply lines and to better protect themselves. Bandits were caught and arrested whenever she could manage it.

Kuvira disagreed with the tactic - she believed in more heavy handed plans - but she was not in charge, so whatever she might have thought didn't really matter. But as Suyin spoke to the Avatar, her _friend_ , and her guard, Kuvira kept her eyes forward and her hands still on her lap, when all she wanted was to reach over to the girl next to her and do- well, she didn't know what, but it wouldn't be appropriate, that she knew.

The end of the meeting and the dance rehearsals (she didn't know why Su insisted on having them when she was gone so often and the world was in such a state) couldn't come quick enough. She threw herself into the steps and bending as not to think about all the things she wanted to. It was definitely their best run through of the routine yet. They held the last pose to the spud of someone clapping. Kuvira nearly lost her poise at the sight of the Avatar grinning in the doorway. Everyone dispersed to towel themselves off and rehydrate.  
  
"Hey cap! Kuvira!" The captain turned at the sound of her name to find the Avatar coming towards her. She set down her water bottle and smiled politely.  
  
"Hi"  
  
"That whole thing was really impressive. I mean, we dance with water in the south, so I don't know why it didn't occur to me that you might to the same with metal. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you had time to spar? I know you just finished dance and you're the guard captain-"  
  
"No, I have plenty of time. Follow me"  
  
"Great! You know, this might be the first time I've ever seen you moderately casual. No armor at all! I like 'relaxed Kuvira'" The captain glanced down at her tank top and loose green pants. She thanked Korra awkwardly and led her to one of the outdoor training fields. The Avatar was quickly fitted to extendable cables and they took positions at opposite ends of the field.  
  
"Now don't go easy on me. I'll never get better if I'm never challenged" Korra demanded. Kuvira nodded and they launched into action. She was surprised to see how easily the Avatar was moving after being unable to walk for such a significant period of time. She kicked strongly at Kuvira's cables and whipped out her own. If Kuvira hadn't been metal bending since Suyin took her in at eight years old, she might have actually been in trouble.

The Avatar picked up the art surprisingly quick and she was already trying to integrate it into the other forms of bending she knew. She did some airbending thing with her feet that left Kuvira momentarily dazzled. Even if she wasn't already infatuated with her, sparring would have been enough to do it. Their cables caught each other midair and they held it for as long as they could. Kuvira ducked one of her cables under Korra's and caught her off guard. The Avatar batted it away with one of her hands as one of her own reached out to grab the captain around the right ankle to suspend her in midair.  
  
"Give up?" Korra shouted.  
  
"Fine, I yield!" She was dropped carefully back on to the ground as Korra jogged over to her with a victorious grin. She held out a hand for Kuvira to take.  
  
"I thought you had me there. A second slower and you might have" she laughed breathlessly.  
  
"Well you were quicker, so there's no need to think about it" Kuvira directed them to a bench beneath a tree that gave them an unimpeded view of the grounds. They sat together in comfortable silence as they drank water. They both stood up straighter when three figures unexpectedly entered the grounds. The Sato girl was chatting amicably with Wing and Wei. They started showing her certain metal bending moves and Kuvira was confused. Sato was a non bender.  
  
"What is she doing?" she asked aloud, turning towards the Avatar. Korra had a strange look on her face; a cross between dopey, impressed, and disbelieving.  
  
"She's learning how to use metalbending to her advantage. How she can use it with her own style as well as how to fight a metal bender" Her head moved absently from side to side, incredulous. Kuvira managed to place the look. In love. Completely and utterly in love. With Sato.  
  
"Why do you love her?" she asked curiously. Korra's smile widened as Sato slapped a cable downwards that was aimed for her head.  
  
"There's no one thing. She's beautiful, brilliant, funny when she wants to be, she's always there for me, she's just _perfect_ in every possible way a person can be. And I'm just me" Kuvira frowned.  
  
"No" Korra turned towards her, curious.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"There is no such thing as 'just you'. You are incredible in our own right. You are brave and determined and you know who you are. You are just as beautiful and infinitely passionate. You should tell her how you feel, you might find your feelings reciprocated" the captain affirmed. As she spoke, Korra's blue eyes narrowed in scrutiny. Kuvira could almost see the moment the thought hit her.  
  
"Kuvira, do you-"  
  
"Captain!" A guard climbed the field, attracting the attention of the twins and their guest, as well as Kuvira and hers. "We've an emergency that requires your attention" he alerted. She rose to her feet, posture set.  
  
"I'll be right there" The guard bowed slightly and ran off. She turned to face the bewildered Avatar. "It was an honor to spar with you, Avatar, thank you for the opportunity"  
  
"Kuvira-"  
  
"I have to go now, please have a nice day" Korra's lips pursed and she nodded stiffly. Satisfied, the captain left. She wasn't fleeing, of course she wasn't. There were things that needed to be done, it wasn't her fault that they had happened at exactly the most horrifying point in the conversation.

The problem turned out to be far less urgent than she had anticipated. It barely even required her, really. But she didn't say anything. It was beneficial when problems were presented to her when they were unsure because then they wouldn't hesitate to tell her wen something was _really_ wrong. So this was annoying but fine. And it served as a good distraction.

She didn't want to think about the look on Korra's face when she talked about Sato. She didn't want to think about the expression on her face when she realized that Kuvira might like her a little more than most people. She didn't want to think about the feeling of her heart in her throat. She didn't want to think about any of it.

She kept herself unnecessarily busy for the rest of the day. None of the soldiers noticed, thankfully, or she might have gotten questions. Not that people normally asked her questions about her love life, but she wouldn't put it past them to start at the worst possible time. It was an immense relief when her head hit the pillow that night. She had tired herself completely out and her sleep was blessedly dreamless.

When she woke up, her throat was clear and her chest felt almost light. It wasn't the first time she'd been rejected and it likely wasn't going to be the last. She went about her day as normal and for most of it, that was doable. Until she opened a door and found Korra sandwiched between Sato and the wall, their lips attached and hands roaming. Alarmed, she slammed the door shut and stood there.

Her body was stiff with shock and all the feelings she tried not to acknowledge the day before rushed back in a flood. She wanted Korra. She wanted to hate Sato. She wanted to bend a pit to the center of the world and crawl inside of it, never to see the light of day again. She could live like the Badgermoles or the famous Toph Beifong. The door inching open interrupted her self-hatred. Korra shuffled awkwardly to the other side of the door and grinned at her sheepishly.  
  
"Hey, cap" Kuvira blinked.  
  
"Hello" Korra scratched her nose, uncomfortable.  
  
"So I took your advice"  
  
"I could see that"  
  
"Yeah, I just wanted to say thank you. You didn't have to say all those things" she murmured. Kuvira ground together the canines on the right side of her mouth. She didn't want to be having this conversation when Korra had a smudge of lipstick on her jaw. It was like watching someone lick that lollipop that you had been saving weeks for.  
  
"I'm glad you're happy" she said tersely. Korra's face went serious.  
  
"I'm sorry you're not" So was she, but that was life and she only had so much control over that.  
  
"Go back to her, she's probably waiting for you" Korra nodded.  
  
"I'll see you around, cap" she promised, slipping back behind the door. Kuvira turned on her heel and marched away. She was a soldier, she could get through this. It was just a lost battle, not the whole war.


End file.
